Newsletter
Issue 632 • 4 May 2017
Inside this issue:
Heads of School
2
Micro Musical Day
Junior Maths Challenge
Brainlab Arts Award Trip
3
Battle of The Sets - Year 7 Concert
Inter-House Bake-Off
4
Year 5 Longleat Trip
Year 4 Explorers and Adventurers
5
Boarding Life
6
Sport News
7-8
Pre-Prep & Millfield Minis News
9-12
Year 6 Micro Musical Day
On Tuesday the Year 6 pupils hosted
children from local primary schools to
perform a ‘Play in a Day’.
May Fair Fun!
A big thank you to all for your support at
Monday’s brilliant May Fair. We were so
lucky with the weather and it was lovely
seeing the children having fun with their
friends and families. With the combined
efforts of the children’s stalls and the
Parents and Friends, we are pleased to
announce the amount raised is almost
£5000!
We would like to take this opportunity to
thank all of those who donated, gave their
time and helped to organise the event, but
special thanks must go to our wonderful
Parents and Friends Association who
worked tirelessly on the day and over the
weeks leading up to it.
Click on the icons above to see more
photos and a video of the day.
Read more on
page 3...
Diary Dates
Friday 5 May
• Year 3 Trip to Bristol Zoo
• Year 4 Trip to The Matthew in Bristol
• International Evening, Dining Hall,
6.00 - 8.00pm
Saturday 6 May
• Saturday Brunch Masterclass, Recital Hall, 10.20 - 12.00pm
Tuesday 9 May
• Boarders Council Meeting, Conference Room,
12.00 - 12.45pm
• Junior Swimming Gala, MPS Pool,
1.30 - 3.00pm
• Year 6 Production Rehearsal, Assembly Hall,
4.00- 5.00pm
Sunday 30 April
• Boarders’ Trip: Weston Super Mare Pier
and Beach
Thursday 11 May
• Book Fair ends
• Digital Council meeting, Conference Room, 12.05 - 12.35pm
• Year 6 Production Rehearsal, Assembly Hall,
5.30 - 6.30pm
Monday 8 May
• Maths Quiz Club Competition, Pavilion,
2.00 - 3.00pm
Friday 12 May
• Speech and Drama Showcase evening,
Assembly Hall, 6.30pm
This Week’s ‘Picture of the week’ is this
amazing piece made from lots of giant
cola bottles, glued together to make a
massive Coke bottle by Harvey H 8L.
Please remember that the car park at
the top by the sports hall is for Pre-prep
drop off/pick up and Minis parking only.
Please can all prep parents use the drop
off area in Martin’s Lane and the car park
at the bottom by the cricket nets.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact the Editor, Harriet Duke: [email protected] or call 01458 837229
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Page 2
Millfield Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
From the Head Girl and Boy
T
handing out the badges for their hard work.
Going to Pre-Prep brings back many memories
from when I was there and how in Year 1 I had
never imagined that I would become Head Girl
in Year 8.
I am really excited about the rest of the term
and all the challenges it will bring. Although,
I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about
the speech!
Emily B 8RAE
On the penultimate day of term I was
given the honour of becoming Head Girl
for the summer term. I was in my tutor
group waiting for final assembly when my
tutor got a telephone call, asking me to go
to the assembly hall for ‘lost property’. I
didn’t recall losing anything and so I was
confused and slightly suspicious. I walked
up to the assembly hall and Mrs Shayler
greeted me there, saying that my coat was
on the stage. I didn’t think that I had lost
my coat but I checked anyway. It turned
out not to be mine and so I put the coat
back down and I began to leave. At that
moment, JM walked in and suddenly Jess
and Calvin burst out from behind the
curtains, asking us if we wanted to be
Head Boy and Head Girl. I was delighted
to be asked and I didn’t need to think
twice before agreeing.
So far this term I have had to do many
things as Head Girl but my favourite has
to be going to Pre-Prep assembly and
considering everyone’s heads were down.
Nothing much happened on Tuesday and
Wednesday but I had my special chocolate
break at Mrs Shayler’s office. Pre-prep
assembly was one of the most awesome
things I did that week.
In my opinion, Heads of School have massive
responsibilities so getting the chance to be
one is beyond awesome. As Head Boy in the
summer term, I’m hoping to prove to Mrs
Shayler that she’s saved the best till last!
This is the story of how I was told I was the
JM J 8CLG
new Head Boy. I am usually very responsible
for my personal property. You might ask “How
Heads
is that relevant to you being told you’re Head
Boy?”. It is. Right before the final assembly
last term, I was called up to the assembly hall
for lost property. I never lose anything (well,
sometimes!) Mr Close was waiting for me
by the gate and Mrs Hazell by the door. They
had it all planned. At that moment I realised
I should’ve gone through the backdoor and
just left them standing there wondering when
I would arrive, but who would do such thing?
Going in I was hoping to be jumped on by the
‘old’ Head Boy/Girl. Mrs Shayler approached
me as soon as I entered the hall with a coat
clearly saying ‘Manor’ on it and then came the
jump scare from Jess and Calvin.
of Games Houses
Angles:
Flynn S and Kelsey W
My last two weeks of the spring term were
awesome. I received my exams results, some
I’m really proud of and some I had nightmares
about. The first week after my ‘promotion’
was more relaxed than I thought it was going
to be. Reading in front of assembly was alright
Heads of Boarding Houses
Danes:
Sophie A and Ralph B
Berewall:
Maddie C
Champion:
Andrew P and Harvey H
Hollies:
Amirah W
Edgarley Manor:
Nathaniel E
Chestnut:
Edu M and Hamza A
Jutes:
Rosa L and Riccardo G
Saxons:
Jo C and Harry B
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Millfield Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Page 3
Year 6 Micro Musical Day
Junior Maths Challenge
On Tuesday the Year 6 pupils welcomed
Year 5 pupils from local primary schools to
take part in Micro Musical ‘Play-in-a-day’
with Chris Norton.
The Junior Maths Challenge was held last week in the delightful setting of The Pavilion.
Some of the higher ability pupils attempted the first qualifying round of the United
Kingdom Mathematic Trust non-calculator problem solving competition. Just to give a
taster, one of the questions was referencing a song in the musical ‘Rent’ that begins ‘five
hundred and twenty five thousand six hundred minutes…’ Pupils had to find if this was
nearest to a week, year, decade, century or millennium.
The visiting schools included:
West Pennard School, Kingsbury Episcopi
School and High Ham Primary School.
The aim of the day was to create a
workshop style performance of ‘The
Highwayman’ poem by Noyes at 3pm. The
day was led by visiting artist Chris Norton,
a composer, who has written a musical
version, in his Micro Musicals series using
Noyes’ original text.
Pupils from all schools enjoyed working
together in mixed groups to present a
show. All children had lines to read and
joined in with the songs and choreography
to tell the story. Lunch was delicious and
they all enjoyed afternoon tea together
with visiting parents at the end of
the show.
Click the camera icon above to see more
photos of the day.
Brainlab Arts Award Trip with Aardman
On Saturday 29 April members of Brainlab visited the Aardman workshop in Wells as part
of their Arts Bronze Award. Set in the wonderful surroundings of the Bishop’s Palace, the
event included the Wells Film Festival. The team learnt about creating a ‘Morph’
character and stop motion. Several stop motion movies later they retired for a well
deserved ice cream!
EAL Pupil of the Week
The winner of the ‘EAL pupil of the week’
award for having an excellent start to the
term is Krijn S. His understanding of texts
has astounded us this week along with his
vocabulary. Mrs Dumontroty almost fell off
her chair when he came out with the word
‘over-protective’ to sum up a character he
was reading about.
He is making a huge effort to read a book in
English every week and is racing along our
reading chart. If he can keep up the effort
for the term he may well win the reading
competition. A great, positive
start to the term Krijn.
Miss Henson
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Page 4
Millfield Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Thematic Learning
Battle of the Sets! Year 7 concert
In the spring edition of Millfield School’s
Windmill Magazine edition, Ben Noble,
Head of Junior Department, discusses why
the introduction of the International
Primary Curriculum (IPC) to Years 1-5
equips pupils with the skills and academic
experiences to get ahead in the modern
world.
Read the full article here >>>
The Year 7 singing concert entitled “Battle of the Sets” will take place in the Recital Hall on
Friday 19th May at 6.00pm (approximate finish time 7.30pm) directly after the ‘Moving
up into Year 8’ presentation. Each class has been preparing their own song to perform in
addition to all pupils performing five songs together as part of the Year 7 choir. We are
delighted to be welcoming Mark Lawson to adjudicate the evening and crown the winner
of the best individual class song. All Year 7 pupils have worked exceptionally hard in their
music lessons preparing the songs and we would love to see you there.
Details are as follows:
Thursday 18th May:
4-5pm - all Year 7s are excused from after school activities to attend a rehearsal in the
Recital Hall. Please let me know if there any problems attending this rehearsal.
Friday 19th May:
4-5pm - all Year 7s are excused from games to attend a rehearsal in the Recital Hall.
5pm – supper
5.30pm – ALL Year 7s gather in the Junior Hall for a warm-up.
6.00pm – Concert in the Recital Hall (finishing time approximately 7.15pm)
Dress code – As the weather will be warm, we ask that boys wear formal grey trousers with
their short-sleeved blue check shirt; girls should wear culottes
with their short-sleeved white blouse and white ankle socks.
Blazers will not be required.
Good luck Year 7!
Pictured here are: Aedhan G, Lyzander G,
Lucy M and Hamish H after their
confirmation at Wells Cathedral last week.
Mrs Sturges
Inter-House Bake Off
Tuesday 4pm and the Bake Off Tent (food tech room) was buzzing
with excitement as our Year 8 competitors took part in the first of
the technical rounds. Armed with only 110g self-raising flour, 25g
butter, 50g cheddar cheese, 75ml milk and 1/4tsp mustard powder
they were challenged to produce the ultimate cheese scone. It
needed to be well risen, crisp on the outside whilst moist and soft
on the inside.
From the off, there was no messing around or shilly-shallying! Ovens went straight on and
it was down to the serious business of “rubbing in” to produce their scone mixture. Once
kneaded together, rulers were requested so that the correct height before baking could be
accurately assessed. It was at this point that I realised just how seriously our bakers were
taking this task.
Linguist of the Week
This week’s winner of the prize of ‘Linguist
of the Week’ is Kimberley W 8E for her
detailed and beautifully presented poster
on the Roman calendar.
Well done to Kimberley for completing her
project in the Easter holidays.
Each member of the team made their own batch of scones. Once baked, the team selected
their best scone to put forward for judging. In true bake off style, I didn’t know which team
had baked which scone of those presented for assessment. All scones were judged on
appearance, texture, rise and taste. It was very difficult to separate the four teams as they
each managed to produce an excellent scone. However, Jutes just managed to edge in front
to take first place. Scores were:
1st – Jutes
2nd – Saxons
3rd – Danes
4th – Angles
Here is Elena L with her winning scone. Special mention should go to Jo C whose scones
tasted excellent and were only just edged into second as Elena managed the better rise.
Next week it is the Victoria Sponge challenge so get practising!
Mrs Sandford
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Page 5
Millfield Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Year 5 Trip to Longleat
Last week the Year 5s went to Longleat to find out about endangered species and discover what Longleat are doing to help protect them.
This piece of writing below by Nidal S, explains all about their day.
When we arrived at Longleat the first animals we saw were the zebras and giraffes. Both species are endangered as they are hunted. I
learnt that zebras are black and white to camouflage themselves so they aren’t eaten by predators. Then we saw a few other species like a
type of goat, some flamingos and went to see the Siberian tigers. The tigers mostly stayed away from us but we got a few glimpses through
the trees, the Siberian tigers are another endangered species. Our next enclosure was the lions. The lions were very playful and stood in the
middle of the road blocking our way. The lions have a bullying nature and we got held up before going in because the keepers had
something to sort out. When the lions had finally moved out of the way we went to see the cheetahs. Cheetahs can run as fast as 70 mph
and have been recorded at Longleat at 50mph.
Then we went to see the wolves. The wolves stayed away and were hidden in the trees or in burrows underground. We then saw one of the
rarest animals on earth - the white rhino. White rhinos are nearly extinct because people hunt for their horns and skin both of which are
very valuable. We then moved on to an elephant who lives with three goats called Costa, Coffee and Sugar.
We then saw reindeer and some other animals like them that only exist in captivity! After that we went back to where we started as the
safari trail was over. We then had lunch and went to the bat cave which had loads of big bats in it. Next we saw some anteaters, meer cats
and loads of other enclosures. Then it was time for the water safari, the boat ride across the lake. We saw loads of sea lions and a couple
of hippos and gorillas. Then we went to see the penguins and the stingray. The penguins were really still and looked half asleep the whole
time so we could take great pictures of them.
Then we went to see the butterflies which were flying around the butterfly house. We also saw a massive alligator. We then went to touch
snakes and spiders and to see guinea pigs and a parrot. We then sadly had to go back to school and our time of fun ended.
Nidal S 5SCS
Year 4 Explorers and Adventurers
Year 4 have kick started their new unit
‘Explorers and Adventurers’ with some
exploring of their own. We learnt how to
use a compass and a trundle wheel and
went off in groups following instructions to
find the treasure! Once we were confident
with following directional instructions we
then made our own for other groups to
follow. We also got to grips with reading
maps. We played some orienteering games
that involved memory, problem solving and
a lot of team work.
Congratulations to Mr Betts on the birth of
his second child, Frederick Harry Betts, on
Monday 1 May. Mother and baby are
doing well and Harriet, in Year 2, has
become a proud big sister.
Mrs. Robbins
Word of the Week
This week, translate the following Latin
word for your chance to win a small prize…
‘dulce’
a) nice b) sweet c) a dove
Please send answers to the General Office
at [email protected]
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Page
Millfield Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Boarding Life
The Year 5 and 6 Hollies girls
were involved in the
preparation of snacks this week
and enjoyed trying out the new
spiralizer! The cucumber twirls
were a particular hit, and they
also enjoyed creating a carrot
jenga tower to entice the other
boarders! A lot of vegetables
were consumed in the process
so the girls definitely exceeded
their five a day quota! Thank
you girls, we look forward to
seeing more of your creations
soon. @MPS_Hollies
The Berewall girls sprang a lovely surprise on Mrs Axten-Higgs who helps us on Wednesday evenings. Asunta and Renee were head of
operations; they stood guard to avoid detection and one by one, each of the girls added their own birthday message to a giant birthday
card. Happy Birthday from all of us!
The Berewall girls are renowned for being avid fruit eaters but on Wednesday evenings they really are inspired to eat healthily!
@BerewallHouse
Over the weekend the Chestnut boys went wild in the woods. They played a couple of rounds of manhunt (where some of the non-UK boys
got a first hand lesson in spotting and then avoiding urtica dioica) and rounded off the evening by toasting marshmallows shades of brown,
ranging from tan to midnight black! @MPS_Chestnut
Saturday night
saw the first ever
Champion Fried
Chicken (CFC)
night! The
Colonels, other
wise know as
Mr and Mrs
James, slaved
over hot stoves to
allow the lads to
fill their faces and
bellies!
@championmps
Sport
HOME
Page 7
Millfield Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Tennis
Caitlin M and Francesca D represented the
U14 Somerset Girls team in the LTA County
Cup Competition over the bank holiday
weekend. They won their box beating Kent
(14-12 in the tiebreak shoot out after
drawing 3-3) and Lincolnshire 6-0, then
beat the other box winner,
Cambridgeshire in another very close
tiebreak shoot out to qualify for the County
Cup National finals at Nottingham next
weekend. (Photos sent yesterday) Both girls
won their singles matches against Kent and
Cambridgeshire respectively which proved
to be crucial wins towards the teams’
success. We wish Caitlin and Francesca and
the rest of the Somerset team all the very
best in Nottingham for the finals.
Calum J reached the consolation final in a
Grade 4 in Hertford on Sunday.
Mrs Thomas
Athletics
The Athletics season has started and we have already seen all age groups in action and
had our first county titles. The juniors had their annual fixture against our friends from
Warminster. There was a great atmosphere at the event and all the athletes and spectators
supported each other. This was a fantastic start to their athletics at Millfield.
The Somerset Combined Events Championships was held on Saturday and Sunday over two
long days at the senior school. The Year 8 girls started at 10am and did not finish until 8pm.
Maisie J won the Year 8/9 event and Alex P was champion in the
Year 7 event.
We then took a team to the Claysmore event on Wednesday and this was another
opportunity for some early season run outs to start the season. A fantastic Millfield team
spirit helped our runners, jumpers and throwers compete in the best way possible.
The season has now started and our athletes are training hard to prepare for their
upcoming challenges. A huge thank you to all of the staff who are working hard to allow
them to compete to the best of their abilities.
A correction from the last newsletter:
Apologies to Matilda J who was missed
off the list of competitors who
ran in the Inter-Area Cross Country
championships last week.
Equestrian
Mr Duke
Paul K was the first to bowl
at Somerset Batsman James
Hildreth at the May Fair on
Monday.
The Millfield Prep riders had a great time
at show jumping training on Wednesday
afternoon.
From left to right Suki H on Billy,
Fleur K on Sonny and Maisie Z on Seren.
Also pictured is Laura J on Louella with
her trade mark tongue hanging out!
Lucy W and Billy also had a great time
flying around the cross country course.
Sport
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Page 8
Millfield Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Golf
Cricket
Freddie T and his brother Harry organised a Charity Golf Day in aid of Cerebral Palsy last
Friday at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club. They raised in excess of £4000 but won’t know
the grand total until the auction site closes on Friday. Sir Gareth Edwards partnered Harry
and Matt Perry partnered Freddie. John Inverdale also played. There was a field of 70
players. It was a really successful day albeit very cold but there was no rain. The boys are
planning on making this an annual event.
Under 10A v Port Regis under 10A
Saturday 29 April 10 a side pairs
Millfield won the toss and elected to bowl
Port Regis 247-9
Lowen S 3-1-6-3
Rudra S 3-0-10-3
Lachie S 2-0-5-2
Millfield 269-3
Ellis J 17no
Lowen S 9no
Rudra S 9no
Millfield won by 22 runs
Football Colours:
Athletics
Joseph E
Flynn S
Squash Colours:
Cal H
Badminton Colours:
Sam C
Clay Pigeon Shooting
The clay shooting team had a good days shooting at West
London Shooting School last Friday for the IAPS Clay Shooting
Championship. The sun was shining and the traps were set.
They were to shoot 50 clays in total, 10 on each of 5 stands. The
team got off to a storming start, scoring 8/10s and 9/10s on the
first two stands! The third stand threw up more of a challenge,
with simultaneous pairs, and the average scores dropped a
touch. The fourth stand gave ‘high pheasants’ as targets, which
is a fun target, but the team took a bit too long to get their eye
in. The last stand presented an incomer and a ‘rabbit’, which is
always a challenge!
The final scores were very respectable, with Harvey H on 32,
Boris F, Alex M and Ralph B on 30 each and Ieuan B on 26. As
a team, this shows fantastic consistency, and brought them in
together at a credible 4th place.
Mr Stickley
Newsletter
Issue 632 • 4 May 2017
This week...
Here are some of the children who were the first
to receive our new awards badges in Pre-Prep
Achievement Assembly. Our badges reflect the
increasing focus on developing a Growth Mindset.
They will hopefully encourage the children to
persevere when things get tricky, be prepared to
work hard and stick with it, as well as work well
alongside others and be kind and thoughtful.
Year 1 Jack and the Beanstalk
The children in Year 1 listened to the story of
‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. They discussed the
characters in the story and identified adjectives
used by the author. Then they planned their
own story about some magic beans, choosing
adjectives to describe their characters and
their settings. The children will use these plans
to write their ‘Magic Bean’ stories.
Badges are awarded for:
Collaboration and co-operation
Team Player of the Week
Effort and determination
Hard Worker of the Week
Independent and creative/original thinking
Learner of the Week
Kind actions
Friend of the Week
(Nominations for this award are sent to me by
the children)
Mrs Blasdale
Reception Visit to Gore Farm
This week the Reception class went on an amazing trip to Gore Farm. We found out about all the
different animals and farm land. We got to hold 3 day old chicks, feed four week old kid goats and 10
day old calves, we walked the fields to talk about the different crops and we even went on a tractor
and trailer ride. Thank you Tessa and Stuart for our amazing day.
This Week’s ‘Picture of the week’ is this
amazing piece made from lots of giant
cola bottles, glued together to make a
massive Coke bottle by Harvey Higgins 8L.
Year 2 Maths
In maths this week we have been learning to
read the time using analogue and digital clocks.
We have started by making our own clocks so
the children understand all the different parts.
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Millfield Pre-Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Year 2 Visit to Carymoor
Last Thursday the Year 2s went to Carymoor Environmental Education Centre. At Carymoor they bring green issues to life using their remarkable site which
combines a working landfill site with a beautiful nature reserve, sensory and wild flower gardens, Celtic roundhouse, forest school area, a sustainably built
Education Centre and a replica shanty town. Coincidently, the shanty town was based on the homes in Freetown, Sierra Leone. During the previous term, we
had been learning about how Ebola had affected the children from Freetown and why it is so important to wash our hands.
The children were very fortunate that we had a beautiful day to explore the site. While we were there, we found a toad, a slowworm and a newt.
Later in the morning we walked on top of a capped landfill and towards an open landfill. This was very shocking and demonstrated the impact humans are
having on the earth. At the end of the day, the children were able to explain why it is important to recycle and some ways we could reuse rubbish.
The children even got to explore renewable energy resources, such as solar panels and small wind turbines. The trip was very informative and engaging. All
children learnt a lot and this learning will help them with our next topic, ‘I’m Alive’.
Pre-School Cookery with Rhubarb
The Tadpoles and Tiddlers found an interesting vegetable growing in their garden, it was rhubarb.
They didn’t believe that you could eat it so a cookery session was in order. Soon the Pre-School was
filled with the smell of rhubarb muffins, delicious! The Tadpoles and Tiddlers all agreed rhubarb was a
lovely vegetable to eat!
Minis Cricket is
back this term!
Click here to
find out more
and to book a
place:
>> Millfield Minis Clubs
Page 11
Millfield Pre-Prep Newsletter ● Issue 632 ● 4 May 2017
Pre-School Superhero Vegetables
Last term the children shared their favourite stories as part of National Book Week. One story in
particular, Supertato, really captured our imagination. As a result we took the children to visit Tesco
Supermarket in Glastonbury to choose a vegetable and turn it into a superhero! We looked at, smelt,
touched and named the different fruit and vegetables in the store. Each child, armed with their own
money, picked their favourite fruit or vegetable and took it to the checkout to pay. (We kept an eye out
for any evil peas that might have escaped from the freezer!)
Back in class the children used felt, buttons, googly eyes, matchsticks, pom poms and glue to turn their
vegetable or fruit into a superhero. I’m sure you’ll agree the end results were fantastic!
The Book Fair
is now open
in the
Pre-Prep
dining hall.
See you at
the Fair!
As the weather gets warmer and sunnier,
don’t forget to put suncream on your
children and remember their school hats.
BUBBLES!
MINIS PLUS Photo of the Week
It was lovely to welcome the new
and old minis back for a fun
session of bubbles!
The children took part in lots of
bubble-inspired activities,
including: making giant bubbles;
painting on bubblewrap; playing
with bubbledough; blowing
bubbles to make art and much
more. We even ended the
session popping bubbles from
our new bubble machine!
See you all next week for Mini
Gardening. Wellies and
waterproofs are a good idea as
the session will be outside.
We are excited to announce that we
are trialling an afternoon Minis slot
this term on a Tuesday. This is for 2-3½
year olds.
We started the term with an exciting
afternoon of Bubbles including
wrapping our feet in bubble wrap and
walking through paint and making
bubble snake blowers. A great first
session!